Focus on the follies starting
with the windmill but never turns:
We are all, no doubt, familiar
with the follies of English architecture, those enigmatic towers and
castellated edifices erected in the grounds of many a stately home the former Duke
of Buckingham's estate at Stowe is positively littered with them.
The Oxford English Dictionary
describes a folly as a costly structure which is totally useless. Perhaps that
is a little unkind for many a folly was built in harmless fun and thousands
every week derive innocent amusement by visiting those now preserved by the
National Trust.
But what of the follies in
Milton Keynes, nothing pre twentieth century in this purpose built city of the
modern age?
No, I do not mean the concrete
cows !
What I had more in mind with
some of the landmarks we have come to love and hate, often in the same breath,
for their eccentricities and impracticability of design and purpose.
Some are amusing, others are downright frustrating. Some, in their time, aroused much public controversy while others climbed onto the back of our landscape almost unnoticed.
I have chosen the follies that
come instantly to my mind but let me make it clear it is not my intention to be
cruel or unkind, simply to bring each to attention in what I regard to be the
true spirit of a folly.
My first choice of folly is
the windmill that never turned. Well it's not a windmill exactly but a wind
powered generator. Located at the junction of Watling Street and Faraday Drive
this folly is a feature of Energy Park, an estate of purpose designed and built
energy efficient homes.
But the trouble is this folly
is one of the most inefficient articles in the entire city.
To return to the dictionary
definition, goodness only knows what it cost to put up and certainly it is
quite useless.
In Denmark I have seen entire
hillsides covered with these generators, like farms of cultivated giant objects
from a science fiction nightmare, all gently turning in the breeze.
But their junior emulator in
Milton Keynes has failed to learn one important lesson from its mentors. In
order to generate electricity the blades of the windmill have to turn around !
Those at Energy Park remain steadfastly static and have done so for many years.
Perhaps the mechanism is
rusted up, surely the inactivity cannot be blamed upon a lack of wind. No, for
unless my memory is seriously failing me, I remember the blades once revolving.
Presumably the dwellings it was designed to serve now received their
electricity from less environmentally sound sources courtesy of National Power
and Powergen.
It is rumoured the windmill
was constructed ahead of its planning permission. Perhaps that is true, nobody
seems to know for certain, it's one of those legends that tend to grow up about
follies. At least no official in a pinstripe suit a so far demanded it be torn
down.
But then why should it be ? It
is not doing anybody any harm is it ? It
serves as a useful landmark on Watling Street and a true folly of Milton Keynes.
Long made it remain.
The estate behind this
windmill was an estate way ahead of its time. It supposedly was built containing
energy efficient houses. Perhaps we need to bring back our windmill. Bring it
back and make it an icon reminding us all how important it is to be energy
efficient. Perhaps the windmill may never physically turn but a metaphorical
rotation could be a practical reminder.
PS: I wrote under the pen-name of Jonathan Flie back then - as in Fly-on-the-wall. When I stoppoed writing newspaper articles I changed to Max Robinson
